City Council Must Vote On Agreement

HARTFORD — The 1,750-member Hartford Federation of Teachers has ratified a proposed three-year agreement with the city schools that would raise wages by 9 percent over the life of the contract, ending in mid-2017.

In 2014-15, the first year of the pact, the school system would budget a 3.19 percent cost increase for raises distributed across the union. In the second and third years, respectively, the wage increases for teachers would amount to 3.04 and 2.86 percent, union President Andrea Johnson said Friday.

Schools spokesman David Medina said the district was "very pleased" with the proposed agreement that would begin July 1, stating that "it keeps salaries competitive and in line with state averages" and "provides significant modifications in health insurance that will create short-term and long-term savings for the district."

The city council must approve the agreement before it is finalized, possibly in the coming weeks.

The union's existing contract with the city schools ends June 30. Under principles of the new contract, which has not yet been written, union members could keep their current health insurance, but they would also have the option of enrolling in a new medical plan that features a health savings account instead of their PPO.

New teachers hired after July 1 could only enroll in the HSA — tax-advantaged plans that require a high deductible from employees but could mean lower out-of-pocket costs.

Employee contributions for the PPO plans would increase slightly, Johnson said. Information provided to teachers state that PPO cost-sharing would rise from 18 percent in the contract's first year to 21 percent in 2016-17. Prescription co-pays would drop from $10 to $5 for generics.

The agreement maintains the official work day for teachers: 7 hours and 30 minutes.

Beginning teachers in Hartford who hold a bachelor's degree currently earn a $45,064 salary under the existing contract, compared to the state average of $43,524, according to ConnCAN, an education reform advocacy group that has compiled a database of teacher contracts.

Negotiations for the new collective bargaining agreement began in October. The union reached a tentative pact with the school system in mid-December, and the school board approved it days later. However, details of the contract were kept confidential until the ratification this week.